The proposed studies are to examine the regulation of collagen synthesis by embryonic chick corneas and to determine the possible defects, on a molecular basis, involved in heritable ocular diseases in humans. Different collagen types in corneas will be purified by neutral salt fractionation and characterized with peptide-map analysis. Also, the purified collagen types will be used to produce specific antibodies in rabbits, and quantitative procedures such as rocket immunoelectrophoresis and/or radioimmune assay will be set up to measure the rates of synthesis of various specific collagen types of matrix-free corneal cells isolated from embryonic chick corneas at different stages of development. Also, the kinetics for secretion of procollagen will be examined in order to assign various rate limiting steps in the synthesis of collagen by the corneal cells. We also intend to examine the metabolism of prolyl hydroxylase and its role in the regulation of collagen synthesis and secretion.